M*A*S*H Season Sets (1 Viewer)

[Chris:L]

I have a question. Since this show is being released by Fox and Fox has done splendidly by supplementing their tv dvds with commentary tracks and such, why haven't they released a M*A*S*H season set with at least a few commentary tracks or seasonal bloopers? I found bloopers online and yet Fox hasn't done a thing about M*A*S*H except add a Play All feature on Season Five. I'd like to at least have heard Alan Alda (Hawkeye's views.) He's my favorite actor from the series. Him and Loretta Swit. Boy I'd love to hear what they have to say about Season Six's episode, Comrades In Arms (Part 1 & 2). If Gord or David are fans of thes how then they know what I'm talking about.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I'm not sure why they haven't added more features to M*A*S*H, my hope is that they will do so for the final season, and the last episode movie, there's a wealth of stuff they could do, and the producer Larry Gelbert had at one time expressed an interest in doing stuff, but I can't remember where that was first noted, I read it in another HTF post.

I suspect that they're releasing M*A*S*H sands a lot of extras to keep the price low, as they weren't sure how much people would be willing to pay for the series, but Gord and David would be able to answer better than I.

 

[Chris:L]

Thanks. That would be even better. Since the final episode/tv movie is 2 1/2 hours long, maybe they can treat that like a movie and have a commentary track added to it and add a dvd rom feature by putting in a script-to-scene feature. Do you know how high the last script is priced at script stores? Very hefty price tag.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I also thought that putting on 1 of those reunion specials as an extra on the finale would be a good touch. I have no idea that they'll go this direction, gbut if they gave me the seasons like they are now, and put some nice supliments on the finale I'd be happy with that.

 

[Chris:L]

Here, here, Casey. Here, here. Great minds think alike. I'm wondering if they planned on releasing the show when the movie was released on DVD.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Here, here, Casey. Here, here. Great minds think alike. I'm wondering if they planned on releasing the show when the movie was released on DVD.

Well, for point of information

M*A*S*H: 5 Star collection was released on 1/8/2002

M*A*S*H: Season 1 was also released 1/8/2002

Why do I remember this?

1/8 is my birthday, so you see I am now connected to M*A*S*H, though funnily enough I bought both of them a couple months after release.

 

[Chris:L]

Why do they call the season sets a collectors edition? There's no special extra features or whatever. So what gives?

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Just one of those Buzzwords that marketing departments like to use I guess. Hell Disney has marketed releases as a Platnum Edition, Masterpiece Edition, and Special Edition.

Its funny I've gotten special editions of stuff that weren't really all that special, and I've gotten stuff that wasn't marketed as such that probably should've been.

and I do like the audio track that removes the laugh track, I can't stand the laugh track on M*A*S*H, it seems just so out of place.

 

[Chris:L]

That, my friend, does not make sense.

The laugh track doesn't bother me. What bothers me is why do they have a laugh track for the ladder seasons? I can be sure of that because they have a laugh track because I've checked the languages they have. The episodes from Season Five do not really get a laugh.

 

[Sam Davatchi]

Did they film any reunion episodes after the final?

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Chris, I never said that it made sense...there's a lot of things like this that don't make sense, yet they happen...it boggles the mind.

Sam, I don't recall that any reunion episodes were filmed, but they did have some reunion specials which were made up of interviews with the cast and stuff like that, of course I really never got in to M*A*S*H until the DVDs came out so I am far from an expert.

 

[Sven Lorenz]

they did have some reunion specials

They had a great special last year - they got all the surviving actors together - but it would have been a lot better if it had been more about the actors and less of a clip show.

 

[Coressel]

MASH is probably my favourite comedy series ever but if they hadn't included the option to watch it without the laugh track I wouldn't have bought the sets.

I'm glad to find others who feel like I do about the giggle-track. It always cheapened the show for me, even when it was originally aired in the 70's!

It's a whole new experience seeing it without the fake laughter.

 

[David Lambert]

I do recall that Larry Gelbert had wanted to do stuff for these releases, but Fox declined because they wanted to keep the costs down.

In fact, I recall reading that right here at HTF. I suspect that Randy Salas was the source, but my memory is hazy.

While I've always regreted the lack of supplements on these, I have always appreciated having the episodes, so no matter to me. I'm very happy with the releases!

Having said that, I agree that something special should be done for "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen". On the other hand, I'm nervous that Fox will break that final episode out to a separate DVD release, rather than including it with the main season set.

Discuss.

 

[Jon_Are]

What bothers me is why do they have a laugh track for the ladder seasons?

'cause they were trying to reach new heights?

Jon

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Having said that, I agree that something special should be done for "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen". On the other hand, I'm nervous that Fox will break that

final episode out to a separate DVD release, rather than including it with the main season set.

David, I've got the same feeling about that one, my reason for having that suspicion mainly deals with the fact that the finale was like 3 hours long or something, and would up the number of discs for the set to 4 or 5 in all likelyhood, especially if they did put on extras. But, this is the way I would accept that as a stand alone release, if Fox were to release season 11 and the finale on the same day, I would have less of a problem with it, even though I'd prefer them to be rolled together. A few months between season 11 and that last episode would really bum me out.

I also agree with you in that I am just happy to have the episodes, and here's a fun fact about me, I own all 5 seasons of M*A*S*H, and the original film, and I purchased all of them at different places, which is hard to pull off in SD without shopping online.

 

[Jim Pattison]

There were only 15 episodes in the final season of M*A*S*H, plus the three-hour finale, so Fox should be able to fit the entire thing onto three discs.

In the early eighties, PBS aired a behind-the-scenes documentary about the series called "Making M*A*S*H". It was narrated by Mary Tyler Moore, and I'd love to see it included somewhere on one of the DVDs.

Jim

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Jim, you are correct, its funny that I never noticed that season 11 wasn't 24 episodes until you mentioned that for as many times as I've gone through the episode guides...in that case, they can still get it done on just 3 discs, which means I'd have an even harder time accepting it as a separate release. Oh well, at the rate we're getting these it won't be an issue until at least 2005-06.

 

[Chris:L]

I have a question on my mind that's been boggling me.

In the early eighties, PBS aired a behind-the-scenes documentary about the series called "Making M*A*S*H". It was narrated by Mary Tyler Moore, and I'd love to see it included somewhere on one of the DVDs.

I thought the special was narrated by Shelley Long who played one of the nurses Hawkeye dated on the show. But I heard, and I'm not too sure about this, that there was a making of M*A*S*H where they shown bloopers, footage of taking takes of scenes, and so forth which, I would think, would be the most extensive making of tv show documentary yet. If anyone knows what I'm talking about please clear this up for me.

 

[Jim Pattison]

The documentary on PBS was definitely narrated by MTM, because at the time, M*A*S*H and The Mary Tyler Moore Show were my two favourite sitcoms, so it was a big deal when I heard that she was involved.

I recall that CBC (which was showing M*A*S*H as part of its prime time schedule here in Canada) later aired a shorter version of the PBS documentary, edited down from 90 to 60 minutes. The narration on the shorter version was re-recorded by someone else, but I have no idea who it was. I think there was also some sort of reunion special on CBS in the early nineties. That may be the one that was narrated by Shelley Long.

M*A*S*H was the Friends of its day. There was talk of ending the series for a couple of years, but they kept coming back. Finally, they agreed to one last, short season, so that's why there are only 15 episodes instead of 24 in season 11.

Jim